The Congress on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the demand being made by the residents of the Union Territory was legitimate and “firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights”.

In a joint letter to the prime minister, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Union government to introduce a legislation in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to grant statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Monsoon Session will begin on July 21 and end on August 12.

The residents of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of statehood for the past five years, the Congress leaders said in their letter.

“It is important to recognise that while there have been instances of Union Territories being granted statehood in the past, the case of Jammu and Kashmir is without precedent in independent India,” they said. “This is the first time a full-fledged state has been downgraded to a Union Territory following its bifurcation.”

In August 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government had abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to the erstwhile state. It also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 2019 order abrogating Article 370 and ordered the Union government to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

In their letter, Gandhi and Kharge referred to statements made by the prime minister on May 19, 2024, and September 19, 2024, reiterating the Union government’s commitment to restoring statehood.

The letter noted that the Union government had made similar assurances to the Supreme Court in the matter.

The Congress leaders also requested the Union government to bring a legislation to implement provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in Ladakh.

The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of the Constitution guarantees protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas.

In Ladakh, more than 97% of the population belong to Scheduled Tribes while Kargil is a Muslim-majority region in the Union Territory.

The inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule would allow for the creation of autonomous development councils to govern land, public health and agriculture. Ten such councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, the only states where the Sixth Schedule has been implemented.

Civil society groups have been demanding the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule.

The Congress leaders said in their letter that the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule would be a “significant step towards addressing the cultural, developmental and political aspirations” of the people while “safeguarding their rights, land and identity”.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the Congress’ letter was a “good move”.

The Congress and Abdullah’s National Conference are allies.

“We have been waiting for the Opposition to raise our voice in Parliament”, The Hindu quoted him as saying.

“I am thankful to Rahul ji and Kharge ji for raising the issue with the Centre,” he was quoted as saying. “We are not demanding something that was not promised to us. Inside Parliament and outside it, we were promised statehood. The SC also suggested ‘at the earliest’.”

In November, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a resolution calling for the restoration of the special status that the erstwhile state had under Article 370.

Through the resolution, the Assembly had sought to reaffirm the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees that “safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people” of Jammu and Kashmir and “expresses concern over their unilateral removal”.

In January, Abdullah said that he wanted to give the Centre the “first opportunity” to restore the Union Territory’s statehood before seeking legal recourse.

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